Author Archives: W. William Hodes

Since the Model Rules of Professional Conduct were first promulgated by the American Bar Association in 1983, they have been amended several times on an issue-by-issue basis, and the ABA has twice undertaken a more global overhaul.

Under the rules of professional conduct, lawyers cannot communicate with opposing clients directly. However, nothing restricts opposing clients from communicating with each other, and lawyers are permitted to explain this to their own clients. But how much preparation can lawyers give their clients in these situations?

With pervasive electronic communications and massive electronic storage of information a part of everyone’s lives, the solution is not to retreat into a hermit’s shell, but to take common sense precautions, such as using encryption devices when especially sensitive data is involved and scrubbing metadata from documents before attaching them to an e-mail. Lawyers USA Columnist William Hodes offers advice about responsibly managing your electronic world.

Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which broadly addresses the scope of permissible discovery and the basic rules of the road, has been thoroughly overhauled several times and tweaked almost continuously since its original inclusion in the ...

In today’s parlance, “pretexting” means employing some kind of ruse or deception to obtain information or to achieve a desired result.
Lawyers USA columnist W. William Hodes comments on when attorneys can legally and ethically enagage in pretexting.

The law of lawyering has long imposed upon each lawyer an affirmative and enforceable professional duty to help self-police the profession. Columnist W. William Hodes takes a closer look at when a lawyer should report another lawyer's misconduct.

The duty of confidentiality is one of the most important professional duties that lawyers owe to their clients.
Lawyers USA Columnist W. William Hodes explores the special precautions that lawyers must take in a world that increasingly involves electronic communication.

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